Intellectual capital formation in EU cross border regions: theory and application

Abstract

This paper aims at studying the importance of intellectual capital as a catalyser of the development of border regions. The topic is relevant because traditionally border regions are less cared by central governments due to distance and therefore they have to rely on themselves to develop; IC and border connections can be, theoretically two ways of helping to solve the development problem of those regions. In a century marked by increased globalisation, the topic becomes ever more present and pertinent. Specifically we study two pairs of cross-border regions: Portugal and Spain, Hungary and Romania. We use a method to define stable cross-border coalitions of cities in both sets of countries. We use data about social and economic indicators, intellectual capital and travel distances. We find evidence of two stable cross border coalitions in Iberia and three in Eastern Europe.